But so far, I have not met any who are looking for an additional income to supplement their existing business.  When I do meet that person, I am prepared with some advice.

That’s the subset I was in when I discovered network marketing.  My seventeen-year-old retail businesses (a small chain of home décor shops) were hemorrhaging with debt and I was looking for another stream of income to keep them afloat until the economy turned.

Looking back, that was all wishful thinking.  While launching my new MLM business, I had to lay off employees in my stores, cut back on every non-essential expense, and defer payments to my suppliers and landlords.  It all ended with a huge going-out-of business sale, and eventually bankruptcy to get out from under the debt I was left with.

What I have to ask anyone interested in making a living in network marketing or Internet sales is this:

1. How long can you survive before you see profits from your new venture?
2. How much money do you need to survive if your cash runs out?
3. Do you really want to create your own job?

The answers to numbers one and two are qualifiers which every entrepreneur should ask before starting any enterprise.  However, the third question may seem odd.

This is because most home business opportunities promote themselves as “businesses” when they are really “jobs.”

Honestly, when I discovered network marketing, I believed the hype that I was creating a real business.  And that appealed to me because being a business owner was already firmly part of my persona.  But along with the trauma of dismantling my shops, came the stabbing reality that my new marketing business was nothing more than a poorly paid sales position, where I had no control over anything but my own time.

At this point, you may be thinking “What about leveraging your efforts through building a team?”  To this I can only answer that in my experience, teams are ephemeral.  They are not truly your employees, bound to perform tasks for pay, and they are often not self-motivated entrepreneurs or business partners, either.  This observation has been shared by many other top producers I know in other companies.  In candid conversations they report having to be constant  recruiters and cheerleaders to keep their “businesses” afloat.

In other words, even those at the top of their MLM companies have only created a job for themselves, and that job is being an independent recruiting agent for the network marketing company which controls the products they sell, as well as the compensation they receive.

This lack of control goes against everything I cherished about being a business owner: Having power over your profit margin, products and employees.

So again I must ask, “Do you really want to create your own job?”

At this point your answer may be “I just want to make some money,” and that was my answer too, but the reality of working in network marketing caused me to keep looking for another solution.

The first thing I wanted to do was find something which relieved me of depending on the efforts of others who were not my employees.  In other words, I didn’t want my compensation to be determined by a down-line that requires constant nurturing and replenishment.

Next, I wanted to distance myself from all of the competition selling small, mass-market oriented products.

Third, I looked for large profit margins.  So large that a single sale every month could pay all my bills.

Finding the right opportunity, however, did not mean that I actually had a “business,” but it did change my job description quite a bit.

Many of us are looking for small business ideas and come across the idea of a franchise opportunity.  You think, well this is the perfect opportunity. It is a business model that works and has already proven to make money.  However there are many risks involved in opening up franchises.  A good number of franchises that people pour their time and money into end up being more businesses for sale down the road.  So let’s take a look at what goes into franchises.

The biggest problem with this small business idea is going to be the cost involved.  The franchise cost will very well easily be in the thousands or even millions. The cost involved always comes down to the type of franchise and how well known it is.  For those of us who are looking into small business ventures, this usually is not an option.

Other franchise costs that many people forget to weigh, are yearly royalties that need to be paid out as well.  In addition to those franchise costs there are many out there that expect a portion of the profits.  So as you can see despite all the work involved your portion of the pie gets smaller and smaller.

Another issue that you are going to run into with franchising is the issue of controlling things how you see fit.  Working with a franchise opportunity, that is not really going to be an option for yourself.  This of course is going to come down to the actual franchise company you work with.  Some have very lax regulations, where you can actually make a good portion of the decisions.  However, there are those companies where everything is pretty much cut and dry and you really have no control.  This can include pricing as well, which during times of economic strain can be very difficult for a small business.

One of the last risks I would like you to be aware of with franchising is trying to sell.  If by some chance you find out that this particular franchise opportunity wasn’t for you, you are going to know what your out options are.  Sometimes it is very hard to sell a franchise, because you generally need approval from the parent company.  So keep that in mind while you are looking into small business ideas and thinking about getting your feet wet with franchises.

There are times though with franchising that the reward far outweighs any risk involved.  So use your common sense and look around and make sure that you choose the right fit for the lifestyle and business model you follow.

To learn about a franchise business alternative, click here.

Simple online searches reveal a plethora of opportunities hyping that they are businesses, but most are not businesses at all. They are variously disguised sales schemes offering commissions. However, the lure of independence and income, wrapped with the promise that an individual will become a “business owner” confuses many would-be entrepreneurs.

Most of these opportunities lack appeal for experienced owners of traditional brick-and-mortar and service businesses. I am one of those entrepreneurs, having owned several regular-old-businesses (furniture stores) before opting to go “Internet” and leave the rents, inventory and employees behind.

It didn’t take long to see that actual business opportunities online are pretty slim. The most obvious Internet opportunities left me cold. The idea of working in sales as an affiliate had some interest, until I discovered the tiny profit margins involved after deducting advertising expenses.

Sometimes the expense was simply the involvement of hours, days and weeks of work to make a tiny amount of money by referring members to a site. Other times, when a few hundred dollars of startup money was involved, I discovered an old-fashioned network marketing company lurking behind it. Those “Businesses” might appeal to a neophyte afraid of commitment and having low expectations. However, they are not fulfilling to someone who expects their business to support houses, cars and family.

So, the question is, are you really looking for a business, or simply a scheme to make some spare cash?

If you wish to have a business, then you most likely know that businesses require startup capital, risk, operating capital, marketing, advertising and a location to interact with customers.

On the Internet, your business location is most likely your web site. If you’re thinking that’s all you need, though, consider that without customers, you will have no sales. It is a misunderstood fact that on the Internet there is no good “Location” for a business. There’s no busy street corner, no affluent town. Each business owner must use marketing and advertising to draw customers.

The downfall of most Internet businesses is not lack of a good product, or having a sub-standard web site. If the business is well capitalized, and has not blown their entire budget on web design (that’s another story completely) their ruin is simply a lack of traffic due to ineffective marketing and advertising.

Very few Internet business opportunities stress marketing more than they stress their products, but I believe that they should. One way is to have a turnkey marketing system, where the owner can pay for all services. Some franchises offer that. (Consider national fast-food restaurants who all benefit from the same huge media campaigns.) Another way is to provide training so that each owner/operator can control their own ads and marketing, either by doing it themselves or by outsourcing.

Now, given the expense of advertising and outsourcing, anyone considering starting an online business should keep an eye on their bottom line. It seems obvious, but if your profit on a sale is $50, you shouldn’t spend more than $49.99 to get that sale. So, entrepreneurs must weigh their return on investment very carefully before diving into any new venture.

The other consideration is recouping your startup costs. In traditional businesses, it typically can take years before expecting to see a profit. Internet business startup costs usually involve heavy web site design fees, and then heavy marketing and advertising budgets. If you are a “bootstrap” entrepreneur, those costs can be minimized by learning and implementing many skills, and keeping outsourcing expenses to a minimum, but there is still expense involved.

So consider what you really want when looking to start an Internet business. You will need a web site, a marketing system and high-profit products. But most of all, you will need training on how to operate your business online. There are very few packages available which provide all of that for you, but they do exist.

See the solution that worked for me here.

I’m guessing that since you are reading this, you are ready to find a way to increase your leads and customers by doing a bit of online marketing.  By now you realize that advertising doesn’t always work out the way you expected, and you have to pay for it whether you get results or not!

A while ago, I was in the same position, having blown a wad of dough on ads, and watching my business go down the tubes.  I didn’t have any money left for hiring professionals, and believed that it was time to take things into my own hands.  After all, I’m an entrepreneur and had mastered skills to create three successful businesses.  How hard could Internet marketing be?

Well, I was about to find out, the hard way, how much I didn’t know.  I had developed marketing and advertising skills over twenty-seven years of running professional services businesses and stores, but they were inadequate for what I wanted to do online.

I considered myself a fairly advanced Internet user, but as an Internet marketer, I was a rank novice.  I ended up wasting months floundering around on MySpace and social sites, and got absolutely nowhere.  I thought that I had a good website, but even though I could tell that people were going to it, I got no business from it.

When I stood back from this and examined what I was doing, I realized two things:  I didn’t have a clue what I was doing wrong, and I didn’t know what was wrong with my web site!  Yuck!

Well, it’s been a long road since then.  I got an education in how to market businesses online, and have turned the results dramatically.  Along the way, I learned some of the complexities of website design and lead generation, and also determined a few very simple steps that anyone can do to promote their businesses online.

Here are three free ones:

1.  Write press releases about anything newsworthy pertaining to your business or industry, and post them online to a free directory.  One I use is 24-7pressrelease.com. The releases can be as simple as describing new merchandise, announcing a new employee, or describing how you are at the forefront of an industry trend.  Online press releases often show up in searches for YEARS after they are posted, and using them puts you in control of your company’s image.

2.  Writing articles is another good way to get lasting publicity.  There are many article directories to post them on, for free.  One of the larger directories is EzineArticles.com.  Different from press releases, the articles are not about news or events, but can be reviews of products, “how-to” tips, or anything of interest to your potential customers.  Like press releases, these articles will often show up in searches for you, your business, or your industry.

3.  Make videos and post them for free on YouTube and many other video hosting sites.  Get in front of the camera and talk for a few minutes about anything of interest to your potential customers.  Make a series of related videos.  For example, if you’re a Real Estate Agent, talk about neighborhoods, condos, housing styles, etc.  These don’t have to be slick to be effective.  The whole idea is for people to get to know and like you.

In all of your marketing, include a link to your website, and a call to action.  For example, a simple one is “Go to my web site and get more info on XYZ.”

If you want to get leads, you need some way to collect the information.  Don’t rely on people going to your web site, picking up the phone and contacting you.  Your web site needs to be constructed to capture lead information (name, email, phone, etc.)  The simplest way to do that is by getting an email service (called an auto responder) and adding a lead capture form to the site.

You can offer a free report, or a consultation, newsletter or something in return for opting-in.  This establishes a relationship, and gives you something to reference when you contact the lead.  For example, if you gave a free report on seagulls, you could start a phone conversation or your follow-up email  with “Did you find that seagull report interesting?”

Without getting technical about lead capture forms and auto responders, all you need to know is that’s an easy thing for you to do yourself or have your web designer add it for you.  There are many auto responder services out there, and you’re probably getting emails from businesses using them right now.  One popular service is Constant Contact.
Whichever one you choose will provide the capture form and some basic installation instructions for you.

What I have listed here is the basics of an internet marketing campaign.  If you post one press release, one article and one video every week, you will achieve publicity which would cost you thousands of dollars if you paid an agency.

These very steps have been proven to work for many different types of businesses.  Of course, your marketing will be most effective if you get some additional instruction on how to structure your presentations and fine-tune your marketing, but the important thing is to actually start doing it.

Before I even turned on my computer, I had made up my mind that the only thing out there was eBay-type sales. Mass-marketing. That style of direct sales was totally easy to understand. After all, I had been shopping all my life! I understood that the merchant’s job was to find and stock products, and my job as a consumer was to buy them, and pay a higher price than the merchant did. The profit on the sale was a simple concept. So I spent hours and days and weeks trying to figure out what I could buy wholesale and sell online at a profit. That’s when my search took a twist.

I felt stuck. Everything I found either had too much competition online already, or else I just couldn’t see how I’d generate thousands of sales to make money on a product with only a tiny profit on each sale. So what was going to be the solution?

A friend of mine had started working with a network marketing company, and showed me how that industry worked. She was selling stuff that had high quality, some brand recognition, and didn’t have a lot of competition. “So why aren’t you rich?” I asked.

You should have seen the look on her face. I got an earful of how the markup on each sale she made was only a few dollars, but she’d soon be making money not only from her personal sales, but she’d get an override on the sales of every new salesperson she got working for the company. It made sense, until…

As you can guess, I signed up and tried it. Sales were a lot harder than I thought. Even though the company gave me a web site, it was really difficult to get new prospects to go to it. I soon found that the only sales I was making were to people I knew personally – not a single one from the internet! My hopes of an internet-based business were dashed. But there was a bright side.

All my efforts to sell online actually exposed me to a world of sales I never envisioned. I think it’s comparable to being a “door-to-door” salesman (except the doors are all online.) To start in that industry I had to buy my “sales kit” but the investment was small. And when I made a sale, the profits were about a thousand times bigger than a sale in my network marketing company. Why?

This was the hook. Profits. And an endless supply of product to sell without me having to stock them and pay for them in advance. And no sales- teams to build. (I really liked that aspect). And because the profits weren’t all being shared among a team, there was a whole lot more going to the one who made the sale. So who are they and how do they do it?

People who work in this industry were called “Affiliates” instead of “salespeople” and what they do is (duh) sell stuff for a company, and get commissions for doing it. They accomplished this amazing feat by a variety of straight-forward means, which mostly come under the heading of advertising. Advertising, as you know, is nowhere near as mysterious as marketing (which often seems like complex magic.) Affiliate sales were attractive for another reason, too.

Affiliate commissions can be HUGE. And the idea of not having to make thousands of sales, like in network marketing or mass-marketing (small profits) made immediate sense. At least it made sense to me…

When I told my network marketing sponsor (remember her?) about what I discovered, I thought she was going to blow up. Well, as I said, this made sense to me – but it didn’t make any sense to her.

She reminded me about all the money we were going to make sometime in the future, and how network marketing would keep paying us on our team’s efforts long after we stopped selling things ourselves. It would be sweet. Hmmm.

Well, so far I hadn’t seen the “team” residual money she kept harping about. But what became obvious — when she finally stopped quietly reading me the riot act — was that we’d be parting ways. The lesson from all this is simply that no one form of online sales will meet everyone’s needs and expectations. So here’s what I found.

Mass marketing and eBay-style sales may be great if you can figure out how to get and sell tons of stuff. Network marketing might be for you if you can figure out how to get lots of people to sell along with you. And affiliate sales may be your ticket if, like me, you’d rather get bigger (up-front) profits for your marketing efforts, and not have to build a team.

You can see the solution I’ve been happy with at http://www.youraffiliatelifestyle.com

Do beliefs drive you?

I believe that we all have passions and talents, and that given the right circumstances we will thrive. I believe that the world has wealth for everyone, but we are kept from it by ignorance, complacency and conditioning. I also believe that we as a society have been deceived about money, and that there are forces at work to keep us from ever achieving our true potential and wealth.

I believe that we can overcome those obstacles by becoming educated in the ways of deception, by maintaining constant vigilance against it, and by taking action. I believe that when we personally take those steps, we will find our Utopia. I believe that in creating that perfection we will find others who are doing the same, and together we will influence and enrich the world.

Our values keep the vision alive.

Each of us has the ability to affect others in a positive way.

My personal passion is for making art which communicates positive energy, inner peace, and a sense of guiding spirituality.

I am successful in that regard. I know that the art objects I make are valued for those qualities, because people who buy them tell me their reactions to living with them. In two extreme examples, women have told me that they chose my paintings as focal points while giving birth.

These artworks and the lives of those they affect are my legacy to the world. They will continue to elevate the spirits of others long after I am gone.

Why should you care?

You, too have the ability to affect others in positive ways. You have talents (even if you‘re not sure what they are) which are ready to be perfected, magnified, and developed into passions which will enrich you and everyone around you.

Take a look at your ideal life. If you had time and money to do exactly as you please, what positive talent would you develop? It could be a subtle as the talent of nurturing and helping others, or the talent of gardening, companionship, perfecting a golf game, or anything else.

Now take a look at you life as it is. Do you have the luxury of developing and following your passion? Do you feel held back by circumstances, and can’t see a way out? Would you like to know how to change things, so you can have the freedom to realize your full potential?

I’m doing it. This is how.

Many years ago I graduated from college with a masters degree in art and was scrambling to find enough money to pay the rent. I spent so much time working low paying jobs that I had no time to make art. In a panic/depression, I realized that I would have to find some way to make enough money to be able to afford the “luxury” of making art (since no one was buying it and supporting me.)

It became obvious that my best option was to start my own business, work for myself, make my own hours and get out of the workday rut. It was the only avenue which could produce the money and time I so desperately wanted.

I started a long stream of entrepreneurial ventures — all with that same goal of becoming independently wealthy so I would never have to compromise my ideals of making art. Some gave me money, but they did not give me time. I was dissatisfied.

What I’m doing.

I’ve found a new venture which has everything I want. I am surrounded by other entrepreneurs who share the same positive Utopian vision that I believe in. It has given me insights to avoid several financial pitfalls and build wealth. Now I have the time and freedom I want. I am an Internet entrepreneur. You can join me in this quest to reach your ideals too.

As bankruptcies skyrocket, and home foreclosures soar, financial literacy and debt counseling programs have become big business. As I watch  what is happening, it sickens me to realize that these programs have been sponsored by the very agencies and companies which created the problems in the first place  (The banks, lending companies and the federal government) and that instead of being enlightening, they serve to keep people poor and under control.

Debt places the debtor in a state of economic slavery, and these programs perpetuate the notion that we can all be “good little slaves” by playing by the company “rules”.  The programs are designed to keep people tied to their jobs and living within the confines of budgets.

Entrepreneurialism is portrayed as “risky” and to be avoided.  And formal education is presented as a safe panacea for advancement in the workplace.

The creators of these programs should be ASHAMED of themselves!  Ashamed for their part in the enslavement of our country.  (And if you, dear reader, are not from the USA, don’t think that you are exempt from this rant.  The ramification of what I am saying affects YOU and your countrymen, too.)

There are international economic conspiracies at play.  They have shaped our current world and are responsible for the good times, the recessions, and what appears to be a horrific financial future for most of the world.

True financial education starts with being aware.  Aware of what?  The overall game plan of  the powers which are controlling our economies. That’s what.  This information is being hidden from the public, because the very sources of our news and educational programs are the same agencies which benefit from hiding the truth.

I believe that the total focus of financial literacy programs should be changed.  The emphasis should be on teaching the benefits of entrepreneurialism, invention and independence from banks, lenders and corporations.

This may not be a popular idea, yet, but times are changing.  As unemployment rises, many people are finding that entrepreneurialism and self-employment are viable alternatives to dependence on a shrinking job market.

I truly believe that those who are being funneled into government endorsed “re-training” programs are being deceived.  I think that the government is “buying time” in hopes that jobs will be available by the time graduation day rolls around.  At the very least, they are using the programs as a buffer against the civil unrest which mass unemployment can spark.

Of course, most people don’t want to be entrepreneurs.  They want jobs.

That too is a shame, but it’s not their fault.  Everyone who has gone through a public education has been conditioned to be a laborer, worker, manager or executive in the service of a company someone else controls.

This Free DVD Will Open Your Eyes To The World Of True Economic Education.

Have you seen the free DVD  “The Conspiracy Against Your Money?”

A lot of suspicions I had about the nature of what’s happening in our economy were confirmed when I watched it.  Especially the part about economic slavery.  The reality of it is vile.

We need to protect ourselves so that we are not victims of those in power.  Knowledge may not set us free, but it will make us less complacent and give us an edge over those who follow blindly.

My guess is that if you are reading this far into my rant, not much of what I am saying is news to you, but I’d appreciate hearing your comments.  So please leave a note here and let me and other readers know what you’re thinking.

Advertising in newspapers, radio, television and magazines was my idea of marketing. Sure, every so often I’d send out a press release, if there was an event to publicise, but aside from that I didn’t have a clue.

Then the Internet blossomed. I looked at it as just another kind of advertising vehicle, and that impression was bolstered by the reps from all of the media I had been advertising with. They all were flogging online ads on their respective websites. Some even offered “online marketing plans” which were almost entirely composed of different styles of paid ads, bundled together.

Results from my offline ads were slowing down. Even ads in the papers which used to bring immediate results stopped producing. So, I dove in and spent thousands on Internet advertising. I should have thrown the money into a sewer. I had no idea what I was doing, and tried to use the same approach which once worked in my offline ads. The results were nonexistent.

In desperation, I tried one website after another, tossing dollar after dollar and watching the business in my stores grind to a halt.

That is when I knew that there had to be another way. I went onto the Internet looking for a better site to advertise on, and ran across an article about Internet marketing. It was full of terms like auto responder, SEO and social media, and it also mentioned a magic word. “FREE.”

My curiosity was piqued. I made a project of getting educated on “Internet marketing,” and found a variety of sites which all gave the best marketing tips for small business professionals. Eventually I was able to get glimpses into what techniques were free, and which ones cost money.

It did take a while, and a lot of effort, to sort things out. It seemed that some of the “gurus” I found were having a blast making every tip and technique convoluted and “secret.” And it was also glaringly clear that they were all either self-taught or hiding the source of their own Internet marketing education.

After months of digging, I discovered a single source for all kinds of Internet marketing education. It is perfectly suited for professionals and small business owners, and was exactly what I was looking for. I signed up.

At last I was armed with the ability to find new business leads online without spending a fortune to get them.

However, I had to adjust my expectations when it came to the timing of results. You see, when I relied on advertising, I expected quick response from the customers. I still like direct response advertising for that. But with online marketing, things were different. It was like watching a slow motion movie of a flower growing.

The closest analogy I can think of is that Internet marketing is like planting seeds. The marketer cannot expect to harvest a crop until it has grown. And notice that I say “seeds.” Plural. Planting one seed will not yield a crop.

That was a difficult lesson. For Internet marketing to work for any business, the marketer must do a lot of it, over a period of time, consistently.

Eventually, intelligent marketing action will start to yield the desired results, and make all the effort worthwhile.

It all starts with getting a solid Internet marketing education.

When I flipped through this month’s Money Magazine, my eyes nearly popped out.

The headline did it’s job. It made my head spin.  But the ad went on to confirm that the price of certain Silver Eagle Dollars can go for as high as $34,500! They’ve Got to be kidding, I thought.  Now, these are numismatic silver eagle dollars but still, $34,500? Wow, here is the actual advertisement:

The Famous Money Magazine Ad.

I didn’t change the ad at all.  There’s the whole thing.  And I hope they appreciate that I’m sending this out to my 10,000+ Twitter followers.  Who knows, maybe they’ll get some business from it!  (and send me a free coin??..hint, hint)

I love those shiny silver dollars, and the reason I personally found this ad so interesting is that I am involved with a company called Numis Network. Our flagship products are MS70 American Silver Eagle Dollars of varying years.

Now, here is an article that ran in a MAJOR Magazine selling 2010 MS70 Silver Eagle Dollars for $149 each and if you buy 10+ you can get them as low as $129 each.  Does that sound good, compared to $35K?

Well, with my program in Numis Network, we can get 2010 MS70 Silver Eagle Dollars the WHOLESALE price of only $99!

Not only that, with our program you get paid to promote the company and you earn money when you sell coins or sponsor someone who wants to have their own numismatic coin business and get preferred pricing, so, you actually can get coins for free each month!

Numismatic coins are red hot!  and this article just shows how people are starting to be aware of their value.

And that’s why our business is perfectly timed. If you want to earn money promoting gold and silver numismatic coins or if you simply want to get a better price on your gold coins or silver eagle dollars, you can check out my website at WealthBuilderCoins.com

This is the perfect timing in history to be purchasing silver eagle dollars and to potentially make money doing so, is just awesome.

It’s my prediction that you will see more and more advertisements like this as the gold and silver rush continues.

Now, our company is not a precious metal investment program, so see this clearly.    This article is pretty cool  considering everything going on in the world.  But one question I love, is “How much can I sell my coins for in 5 years?” My answer to that is, “Isn’t it cool, we can even have that conversation???

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Would you have been better off buying one silver of gold coin each month for the last 5 years?”

Well, then consider this: “Will you be better off buying one gold or silver coin each month for the next 5 years, and possibly make money doing so?”

Having a passion for anything can be helpful when setting goals, but keeping the vision of your legacy in mind is a tremendous motivator!